Lemon Law in Oregon

Oregon’s Lemon Law was enacted to protect buyers who had bought new automobiles with defects. Under this law, if you purchase a vehicle with chronic mechanical problem(s), you can demand a new vehicle or a refund from the manufacturer or dealer from whom you bought that vehicle from. The Department of Justice (DOJ) in Oregon is the one that administers this law. Generally, an authorized dealer or manufacturer will be allowed a reasonable number of attempts to fix the defects before your car is officially declared a lemon.

Oregon Lemon Law Rights and Criteria

This law covers serious defects that are likely to cause a serious injury or death. The defect must also occur within the first 2 years on ownership or 24,000 miles, or whichever comes first. Before taking any step, you must notify your manufacturer when a serious defect occurs. You must also take your vehicle to the manufacturer for repair. The law does not cover vehicles with defects caused by any other person other than the manufacturer. It will also not cover vehicles with defects caused through negligence or intentional alterations. The law also does not cover motorcycles. For you to invoke Oregon’s lemon law, to deal with unscrupulous manufacturers, you must meet the following:

You must have purchased a vehicle for family, household or personal use as the low does not cover vehicles for business or commercial use

You must notify (in writing) the Vehicle dealer or manufacturer of the problem within 2 years of purchase or 24,000 miles or whichever comes first.

The vehicle in question must qualify as a lemon. This means it must have serious defects that impair its safety, use or market value and the manufacturer must have been unsuccessful in fixing the defect or the vehicle must have been out of service for 30 business days.

Third party arbitration process

Before rushing to take a legal action, you and the manufacturer must first go through the third party arbitration process to resolve your differences. If a third party arbitration process rules in your favor, you will be entitled to a full refund or a vehicle replacement. A full refund means the value of purchase price and other applicable fees and costs.

Filing a Oregon Lemon Lawsuit

If a solution cannot be reached during a third party arbitration process, you may hire a lemon law attorney to help you sue the manufacturer in a civil court. If a manufacturer decides to repurchase the vehicle from you and happen to repair it, the repaired vehicle must be registered under a different title usually known as ‘Lemon Law Buyback.’ Prospective customers of this vehicle must be notified that the vehicle is a lemon. You can access more information regarding Oregon Lemon Law online through Oregon Department of Justice website.